Dr. Khosrow Nafisi

Dr. Khosrow Nafisi was born in Mashhad, Iran. Even at a young age, he was known among his friends, family members, and fellow students as an extremely kind and service-oriented individual. He studied medicine at Mashhad Medical University in 1966, where he was consistently at the top of his class and eager to assist others. This was not an easy accomplishment given the external factors against him; Dr. Nafisi and his family were severely persecuted as members of a religious minority in his native country.

By what a friend calls “a miracle of faith and determination,” Dr. Nafisi, his wife, and their 3 daughters were eventually able to immigrate to the United States. However, the family faced innumerable risks, dangers, and challenges along the way. In 1979, as the revolution in Iran began, Dr. Nafisi was able to send his wife and children to Ireland; he, however, remained in Abadan, Iran, where he served as a doctor. The area of Abadan was showered with bombs during the conflagration with Iraq, and Dr. Nafisi continued to face persecution due to his religion. Miraculously, he survived his time in Abadan and was able to join his family in Ireland. From there, they traveled to the Caribbean, where Dr. Nafisi secured a teaching position at a medical university. Finally, through another set of extraordinary circumstances, Dr. Nafisi gained acceptance into a medical training program in California. Furthermore, he was able to secure work visas until, eventually, he and his family achieved American citizenship in 1991.

Since living in the United States, Dr. Nafisi has dedicated long hours to medical facilities in Los Angeles, serving under-resourced areas and patients with a variety of emergencies–from broken limbs to domestic violence to gunshot wounds. He has served Arizona since 1987. Dr. Nafisi has served countless patients as a highly skilled and respected internist, and he has also dedicated two years to offering medical services without cost in a clinic in Guadalupe, Arizona. He has accepted patients who cannot afford medical care, a number of whom are immigrants like himself and his family.

When asked what he values most about his American citizenship, Dr. Nafisi praised, “the privilege of being protected by the Constitution of the United States which gives me the freedom that I have dreamed of all my life. In addition, being an American citizen gives me endless opportunities to serve mankind.”

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